The night was dark, but the captain carried all the sail he
could, eager to take every possible advantage of the wind,
which was freshening considerably. If he could have
sighted a ship he would have made signals of distress, and
would not have hesitated to transfer the passengers, and
even have allowed the crew to follow, if they were ready to
forsake him; for himself his mind was made up -- he should
remain on board the Chancellor until she foundered beneath
his feet. No sail, however, hove in sight; consequently
escape by such means was out of our power.

During the night the canvas covering yielded to the pres-
sure of the waves, and this morning, after taking the sound-
ing, the boatswain could not suppress an oath when he an-
nounced, "Six feet of water in the hold!"

The ship, then, was filling once again, and already had
sunk considerably below her previous water-line. With
aching arms and bleeding hands we worked harder than
ever at the pumps, and Curtis makes those who are not
pumping form a line and pass buckets, with all the speed
they can, from hand to hand.

But all in vain! At half-past eight more water is re-
ported in the hold, and some of the sailors, overcome by de-
spair, refuse to work one minute longer.

The first to abandon his post was Owen, a man whom I
have mentioned before as exhibiting something of a mu-
tinous spirit. He is about forty years of age, and altogether
unprepossessing in appearance; his face is bare, with the
exception of a reddish beard, which terminates in a point;
his forehead is furrowed with sinister looking wrinkles, his
lips curl inward, and his ears protrude, while his bleared and
bloodshot eyes are encircled with thick red rings.

Among the five or six other men who had struck work I
noticed Jynxstrop, the cook, who evidently shared all Owen's
ill-feelings.

Twice did Curtis order the men back to the pumps, and
twice did Owen, acting as spokesman for the rest, refuse;
and when Curtis made a step forward as though to approach
him, he said savagely:

"I advise you not to touch me," and walked away to the
forecastle.

Curtis descended to his cabin, and almost immediately re-
turned with a loaded revolver in his hand.

For a moment Owen surveyed the captain with a frown
of defiance; but at a sign from Jynxstrop he seemed to
recollect himself, and, with the remainder of the men, he
returned to his work.

CHAPTER XXIV
CURTIS RESOLVES TO ABANDON THE SHIP

DECEMBER 4. -- The first attempt at mutiny being thus
happily suppressed, it is to be hoped that Curtis will succeed
as well in future. An insubordinate crew would render us
powerless indeed.

Throughout the night the pumps were kept, without
respite, steadily at work, but without producing the least
sensible benefit. The ship became so water-logged and
heavy that she hardly rose at all to the waves, which con-
sequently often washed over the deck and contributed their
part toward aggravating our case. Our situation was
rapidly becoming as terrible as it had been when the fire
was raging in the midst of us; and the prospect of being
swallowed by the devouring billows was no less formidable
than that of perishing in the flames.

Curtis kept the men up to the mark, and, willing or unwill-
ing, they had no alternative but to work on as best they
might; but in spite of all their efforts, the water perpetually
rose, till, at length, the men in the hold who were passing
the buckets found themselves immersed up to their waists,
and were obliged to come on deck.

This morning, after a somewhat protracted consultation
with Walter and the boatswain, Curtis resolved to abandon
the ship. The only remaining boat was far too small to hold
us all, and it would therefore be necessary to construct a
raft that should carry those who could not find room in her.
Dowlas, the carpenter, Mr. Falsten, and ten sailors were told
off to put the raft in hand, the rest of the crew being ordered
to continue their work assiduously at the pumps, until the
time came and everything was ready for embarkation.